Two Of A Kind
by laughingmagician
Summary: Mid Season Two: While Max tries to cope with her forced distance from Logan, Alec is haunted by his Manticore past and much more...
1. Chapter 1

Two of a Kind

An original Dark Angel fan fiction 

**Written by: **Jennifer S. a.k.a. AssassinElektra

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Dark Angel. This is a fan fiction story meant only for the enjoyment of myself and other Dark Angel fans.

**Title**: Two Of A Kind

**Genre**: Action/Adventure, Romance, science fiction,

**Setting**: Dark Angel, toward the end of season 2

**Rating: **PG

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I've recently become a huge Dark Angel fan, so here it is, my first DA fic! As Alec is my fave character (for more reasons than one) I decided to write a story focusing on him.**

**Chapter 1**

**Long Story Made Short**

_**Max--**_

Sometimes I wonder if destroying Manticore really made things any better. Like what if it was still around and all these lost kids who are trying to understand the real world were back there and safe? And then I think back on the others, I think about Zach, and Tinga, and Ben, and I realize that what I did was a good thing. That place destroyed my friends, it destroyed me in a lot of ways too.

But it's when I get those calls from Logan that it all really starts to bother me. "Oh, Max, by the way one of your transgenic buddies is running loose killing people." You know the kind of call I'm talking about. Well, maybe you don't, but even so you can see where I'm coming from.

So when Logan ran in frantically to the Crash—a place he seems to have been avoiding lately—I knew something was up. Alec picked up on it right away too. Unfortunately he was the first to ask about it with the tone that was his namesake.

"Hey, Logan, man what are you doing here? Don't you have some innocent citizen who's being held captive by a corrupt government you should be saving?" Alec asked.

Logan gave him a sarcastic smile and turned his eyes to me. "Max, we've got a problem."

"What's up?" Stepping off of my bar stool I was annoyingly aware that Alec's attention was focused on Logan and I even as we made our way across the room.

"Seems to be a girl running loose in sector 6." He said, in all seriousness.

"Yeah, and?" I was a bit rude, but the guy deserved it after ditching me the past few days.

"There are rumors that she 'trashed' six cops earlier today." I raised an eyebrow to show slight interest. "On her own, Max."

"Sounds like one of my sisters." I said, and even I could hear the fear in my voice. "Guess I better go lookin for her." I threw my jacket on and headed for the door, without saying anything else to Logan. Things are tough between him and I, ya know? No need to rub any salt in the emotional wound, right?

"Hey, Max!" I sighed and stopped walking, waiting for Alec to catch up. "You left in a hurry." He commented. "Boyfriend break up with ya?" I glared at him and he raised his hands in fake surrender. "I know, I know, 'you're not even like that.'" He mocked my voice, which only pissed me off more. I started walking again and he followed me.

"Look, are you gonna be following me around all night asking stupid questions?" I snapped. No worries when it comes to snapping at Alec. He's like the king of dishing it out. Does him some good to get it every once in a while for himself.

"I'm just saying you looked worried when you took off." Alec told me, walking faster to keep up with my pace. I didn't say anything and he nodded, like he'd come to some conclusion on his own. "Let me guess." He said. "Brother or sister running loose killing people."

"No." I answered, and he looked surprised. "Not killing, just beating the crap out of."

"Oh." He almost looked amused.

"Logan said she took out six policeman by herself." I told him, not quite sure why I was telling him anything.

Alec smiled. "She?" He raised an eyebrow. "Looks like I need to come along for backup."

"I don't need your help." I snapped, walking faster.

"Oh, come on, Maxie." He said, playfully. "If we rendezvous with this sister of ours and have a little scuttle, at least at work tomorrow I can tell everyone I got some action."

"Would it get you to shut up if I said, yes?" I asked him.

"Lips are sealed." He said, closing his mouth, and what a beautiful sight that was.

"They better be." I said, turning to look where I was walking again. It took a few minutes to get to sector 6, but we made it eventually. When we got there I could tell that something wasn't right, because everyone on the streets looked afraid, which only led me to wonder what they were doing wondering around at night. But hey, to each his own.

Alec was the first to catch sight of her, well actually all either of us saw was a blur that ran by. I looked at Alec and he looked at me and we knew she was the one we were looking for. Without a word we both took off running after her.

The only reason we caught up to her was because she was wounded. I couldn't tell where or how badly, but she was leaving a trail of blood.

"Looks like our girl's gotta cut." Alec said, annoyingly stating the obvious. "Good." He said, his tone serious, and I gave him a questioning look, because for a moment he sounded just like Ben. "It'll be easier to get a hold of her." He said, and I relaxed. "Lighten up, Max."

"Not while one of my sisters—who I set loose—is running around hurting people." I said. Looking around we found no trace of her, until her foot made direct contact with my face. I flew across the street and into an alley, and she followed after me. It took Alec a moment to get up—she had thrown him in the other direction—but he was right behind her even as I jumped to my feet.

"We're not going to hurt you." I told her, realizing as I got a glimpse of her face that she was nothing more than scared. "We want to help." I turned around slowly and showed her my barcode. "See?" I turned and looked at her, and her face seemed to have softened a bit, but she still looked ready to fight.

Meanwhile, Alec was making his way up to her without her even noticing, and I could tell that he was going to pounce. I tried to signal for him to wait, but the idiot threw himself towards her instead.

The impact knocked them both to the ground, she rolling to one side and him to the other, both landing painfully against the alley walls. I rushed over to help Alec up, but the wide-eyed look on his face made me stop and follow his gaze. He was looking at the girl we'd come to find, and I could tell that he recognized her.

"Alec, what is it?" I asked, but him and the girl just kept sharing their gaze, her eyes frightened and his sad and shocked. "What's going on?" I asked. The girl jumped to her feet and ran away quickly, and as I tried to follow her, Alec grabbed my foot and made me fall to the ground where my face hit wet pavement.

"No, Max." Alec told me, out of breath. "Not her."

"Who is she?" I asked. Alec looked away, avoiding the question. "Alec, answer me!" I said, raising my voice. "Look, she's hurting people. We need to stop her!"

"She's not even an X-Series, Max. She's something more." Alec told me, and my blood began to run cold. "There is _no_ stopping her."

"How do you know?" I asked, half-afraid of the answer.

"It's a long story." Alec said, once more avoiding my question.

"I've got time." I said, getting frustrated with him.

He looked around. "Not here." He said. And that was how I found myself in Alec's apartment ten minutes later. He was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV—which wasn't even on—looking very tense.

"Okay, spill." I said quietly, trying to be understanding—because whoever this girl as she seemed to be causing him a lot of grief.

Alec smiled as some past memory played in the back of his mind like an old movie. "I couldn't sleep." He said. And I marveled at how quickly he shared his thoughts with me. A month before he would have snapped that it was none of my business, and now he was sharing openly. "That's how it all started." Right then I knew I was in for a strange story.

"They kept her separate, gave her a cage rather than barracks like the rest of us. It was like a coffin, a glass coffin that she could look out of but never escape. I was walking down the hallway, making my way back to my bed, when I noticed a strange light breaking through the darkness. It was coming from a hallway I had never been down before." His smile faded as he thought back.

"I followed that light." Alec continued. "And I found that it came from an angel." I raised an eyebrow, but Alec didn't even notice me anymore, he was too lost in his memory. "And I remember wondering why they held her like that while the rest of us were free." He paused and looked at me. "Well, as free as you could be in Manticore." He said, smiling, but I was not amused, so he continued his story.

"It was after the escape." He told me. "In fact, it only happened about a year and a half ago, but it seems like it's been forever." He looked at the floor, his eyes sad. "Anyway," He looked up, trying to cover his emotions. "I saw her there, and the sunlight was just barely peaking through a window down the hall. The way the light hit her hair, it was beautiful, it made her hair the most radiant shade of dark gold. So, I called her Amber."

"Amber got a visit from me every night, until one night…she wasn't there anymore. They had taken her away, and I had no idea where she was. You know, Max, when I got my first assignment, when I met Rachel…" He looked at me, "I loved her, but with Amber it was…different."

"She was the first person you cared about from Manticore. The _only_ person you've ever been able to care about from that place." I guessed.

"Not the _only_ one." Alec said, his tone dead serious as he gave me a look I could not read. But that look gave hints of ideas and possibilities that I had never even considered.

"So, did you ever learn what they had done to Amber?" I asked, wanting to get him back on the subject.

"Over time…I gave up looking. I gave up trying to find out what had happened to her. We were always trained to forget fallen soldiers and move on, severing all attachment."

"We were taught to never become attached to being with, Alec." I reminded him. He looked like he was about to cry, and I wanted to reach out, to hug him or something, but I couldn't make myself do it.

"I know, Max." He said, and I could hear the pending tears in his voice. "But I couldn't help it. I was just a kid, but the feelings they…they were unusually strong. I mean, I had no idea what I was feeling for her, so to forget her was almost a comfort. I was confused about the way I felt, couldn't bare to not understand it." I looked away. "What?" Alec asked me.

"It's just that sometimes you remind me so much of…" I smiled my tears away and looked up at him.

"Ben." He finished for me in a whisper. "That's all I'll ever be to you, Max, a shadow, a mirrored image of a brother you were forced to destroy." He snapped.

"Hey, don't get all moody with me." I said. "I was just thinking out loud."

"Whatever." Alec shrugged it off and looked over at his TV. He was quiet for a few moments, then spoke quietly. "She needs to be found."

"We'll look for her again tomorrow." I assured him.

"No, Max. I need to find her on my own. I need to do this alone." He turned his hazel eyes and looked right into mine. "Please understand that." He pleaded.

I thought for a moment. Thought about Ben, about Manticore, about the feelings I still had for Logan even if a virus was keeping us apart, and I finally nodded to Alec, who noticeably relaxed.

"Page me if you need help." I said, standing to leave.

"Hey Max?" I glanced back at him. "Thanks." I was surprised to hear him, of all people, say that to me. So, I just nodded and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Two of a Kind

An original Dark Angel fan fiction 

**Written by: **Jennifer S. a.k.a. AssassinElektra

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Dark Angel. This is a fan fiction story meant only for the enjoyment of myself and other Dark Angel fans.

**Title**: Two Of A Kind

**Genre**: Action/Adventure, Romance, science fiction,

**Setting**: Dark Angel, toward the end of season 2

**Rating: **PG

**Author's Note: Alec is a complex character with multiple layers to his personality, so I took this chance and worked with a few possibilities. Let me know what you think!**

**Chapter 2**

**No Room For Doubt**

**_Alec--_**

I knew Amber would be close to my apartment. I had seen that look in her eyes—the one that told me that now that she had seen me and knew I was alive she was going to find me. Or come after me, because after what I had seemingly done to her, I definitely deserved it.

She was so quiet that I almost didn't know she was standing behind me at first. But then I heard a quiet sob, and that made me turn my head. Catching a quick glimpse of her beautiful hair, I felt my whole body go numb.

Slowly, I turned and faced her, and as I gazed into her frightened eyes all thoughts of Rachel and Max and every other girl I had ever been remotely interested in were destroyed by my newfound hope from Amber's presence. I didn't know what to say, so I said the only thing that came to mind.

"Amber." I whispered her name, and her eyes glistened as she heard me say her name for the first time in over a year. I could see that it was affecting her, was making her think back. And then I couldn't _stop_ talking.

"Amber, are you okay? You know the sector police are looking all over for you? How long have you been in town? I missed you every day since that day. What did they do to you? Amber…" I reached out a hand to place against her cheek, but she jerked away. "I'm not going to hurt you." I said, letting my hand fall back to my side. Her eyes stared at me, focused completely on me.

"How have you been?" I asked her, and she wrapped her arms around herself like she was cold. It was then that I saw her hands, her bleeding knuckles. "What hap…" I looked up into her tear-filled eyes, guessing what had happened. "You didn't have a way out when Manticore was burned, did you?" She looked away. "Everyone else could run away, and we did, but not you. You were trapped there, locked in a glass cage." Her frightened eyes turned to me once more, and they told me I was right.

"Oh, Amber, I'm so sorry!" I reached out to hug her, but she grabbed my arm and twisted me over her shoulder. I landed painfully on my back, and when I was standing again and turned to face her, Amber was gone. So there I stood, in my empty apartment.

But I wasn't going to give up on her yet. Not Amber. I felt too much for her. Lydeckor had tried to break me of it, had kept me in strict conditioning training for months after Amber's mysterious disappearance, and I had begun to forget her just as he wanted me to. But then one day the sun had shown through a window, casting the same shade of light that made her hair glow, and it had all come rushing back.

Now I'm not a sensitive guy. I don't break down into tears because of some movie ending or anything. I just, right then I honestly just needed to cry about Amber, because at the time I had been mourning for her back in Manticore, thinking her dead, it hadn't been allowed. But, no matter how revved up my genes were, the geniuses at Manticore had failed to take my basic humanity out of the mix, so I did cry. I got hell for those tears. If there's one thing I'll never forget about Manticore it's that they know how to dish out the torture—could give the devil a run for his money. Or maybe that's where the devil learned all his tricks. I don't know. But what I do know is I never cried another tear there again.

I jumped in surprise when my phone rang, glad that no one was around to see my reaction. "Yeah." I said.

"New transgenic is trapped in sector 3." I heard Max say.

"Amber?" I asked, although I knew it was impossible for even someone like her to make it that far that fast.

"No." Max said. "Rumor has it this new kid is brutally killing people, torturing them to death.'

"Oh how nice." I remarked sarcastically. "So I'm guessin' it's time for a little family reunion?" I asked her.

"Yeah."

"All right." I replied. "See ya in a few."

And I did. I met Max at Crash and then we headed toward sector 3. I hate uncomfortably silences though, so when she didn't say anything, I had to, just to keep myself from going insane with the silence.

"So, Max, how are things with you and Logan?" I asked, and she seemed a bit taken back by the question.

Max decided to ignore the question though and point it all more towards me. "So, you said Amber's not an X-5 series. Well then, what is she, because she looks real." Max concluded.

"Well she's not fake if that's what you mean." I commented, flashing her a smile that she was not amused with. "Cuz I've met some girls who were definitely fake." I added.

"Oh yeah?" Max asked sarcastically. "And how much did they cost you?"

"Hey, now that's…" Max held her hand up for silence and like a stupid puppy dog I obeyed. But I was glad I had after I saw why her hand was up.

There, in the shadows of an alley, stood our culprit. I knew because he held himself like he was from Manticore, like everyone else was below him. That had been one of our lessons too: the enemy is always weaker than you. By believing that you defeat them. There is no room for doubt.

"No room for doubt." I whispered, and Max gave me a questioning look. I motioned that it was nothing and she turned her attention back to the transgenic.

I took a moment to look at her then. I don't know why I chose that moment in time, standing there in the Seattle night near a dark alley way where an enemy awaited, but I did. And you know what I saw? I saw something that scared me. I saw someone that I could…Well, it's really not important because it would never be possible with her and me and…it would never happen. But, while I was busy daydreaming like an idiot, Psycho Boy made his move.

Now it was dark that night---and what little light the stars and moon would have offered was blocked off by heavy storm clouds---so Max and I were fighting a faceless villain. Not that I didn't mind a little anonymous butt-kicking. I'd had to look at my opponents right in the eyes for too long, and that can get distracting sometimes.

So, I threw a couple of punches at this guy and Max did her trade-mark tough-chic kicking, but he dodged or stopped every move we tried on him. This guy was channeling some serious rage, but he was doing it through Manticore training—two things that should never be mixed. So his rebound hits were not only powerful but viscous.

"Can tell our boy's a killer." I told Max.

"Oh yeah?" Sshe said, dodging a punch. "How?" She retaliated with a kick that he merely seemed to push aside by throwing her onto the ground. But I took that moment of his distraction to kick his legs out from under him and throw him down right beside her.

"He's so angry." I told Max, offering her a hand. She took it and jumped to her feet.

"You have no idea." The stranger said, scampering back into the shadows. His voice sounded familiar, and I guess Max recognized it too because she gave me a look that asked who he was. "Anger is an understatement." He added, turning around to leave.

"Wow, wow, wait a minute buddy!" Max said, starting towards him. But he turned around and kicked her so hard she flew backwards landing on the ground beside me. I made sure she was all right then looked at our mystery man.

"Why the cloak and daggers there, pal?" I asked him, being sarcastic. "I mean, we can all ready guess that you're ugly, so there's really no harm in us seeing your face." I waited for a reply, but he just started walking away. I was about to take off after him, when Max touched my arm.

"Don't." She said. "Let him go for now." She was holding onto her ribs in pain.

"Hey, Max, are you okay?" I asked, giving her a look of concern. She looked up at me almost in disgust from my interest. "Fine." I snapped. "I was just asking."

"I need to get back to Logan." Max said quietly.

"Of course you do." I remarked, rolling my eyes.

"Alec?" I turned around and looked at Max at the sound of her softened voice. "Are you going to be okay?"

"What are you talking about Max. You're the one who got your ribs cracked, not me."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Amber." She said, cautiously.

"Look, Max, I said I wanted…"

"To take care of it on your own." She finished for me. "I know, I know. It's just that…" She looked at me, then smiled in embarrassment, and I wondered what she was thinking. "I forgot, 'you're always okay.'" Max said, mimicking me.

"Don't you forget it." I said, as we headed for Logan's.

Okay, so here's my theory on Logan: He wants Max, Max wants him, but there's that whole Max-carrying-his-death-in-the-form-of-a-Manticore-virus-thing that's against him. And then there's Max herself, who for even a moment, one moment, won't allow herself to feel true human emotion. She cuts herself off from the possibility of love before she even starts _liking_ someone. A defense mechanism I guess, but not the way I handle things.

Of course if it was maybe I'd never have met Amber and never have worried so much about her. But enough about my little Transgenic soap-opera life and back to why I hate Logan. Well hate is a strong word, but I really can't stand the guy.

I'm an easy going person, someone that everyone can get along with--unless of course you're Max. But there's just something about Logan that makes me not want to play nice guy around him. I take every cheap shot I can at the guy, and I know it irritates him. But then I love getting him riled up, because when the pacifist gets angry it's just funny.

Maybe it's the way he's always looking at Max, like she's a real person. I guess I've always kind of envied that look that he gives her, because no one would ever look at me like that. Oh to not be a Manticorian, to be an 'ordinary.' Whatever. If you could see me right now you'd see me laughing at the pity that some transgenics have claimed since Manticore went down.

They get all depressed because they can't blend. "Oh, poor me I have cat eyes and teeth." Or, "Oh man, my life sucks because I can breathe under water!" I wish they would just move on with their lives like I have.

But then if I have moved on why am I still in Seattle with Max and her little fan club? Why stay so close to a place like Manticore, where my past is always crawling out of and looking for me? Why stay where White and his men know I'm around? Maybe I stayed because of Amber. Maybe I'd always hoped she was still alive even if I didn't know for sure, and that if someone took down Manticore I would see her again. Or maybe I just had no where else to go.

"Just keep the ice on it." I glanced over at Max and Logan. He was sitting a cautious foot away, motioning towards the ice pack Max was holding against her ribs. "So this guy was pretty rough, huh?" Logan asked, trying to make conversation.

"Well he could have taken you out in two seconds flat." I said, loving the look of irritation that Logan tried not to give me but ultimately failed to contain.

"There was something about him that…" Max thought for a moment. "He seemed familiar somehow."

"Yeah." I agreed. "Noticed that too."

"Well, he _is_ from Manticore. Maybe he was part of your unit?" Logan suggested.

"I'd remember him." I said, and both Logan and I looked at Max.

"Well, it wasn't Zach." She said, as if that would somehow settle the whole thing.

"Well, whoever it is he's killing people." Logan said in a serious tone.

"Oh, Superman here wants us to save the world again, Maxie." I said, scoffing at Logan.

"Look if you have a problem with helping people then you can just walk away." Logan snapped, getting in my face. "Because frankly, we don't _need_ you here anyway."

"Maybe I'm not here for you." I said, my dead serious tone matching his.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow. "That you're staying for…"

"Max." I said, talking to her, and she looked a bit surprised. "I'm out of here." I glared at Logan then started for the door. "I'll keep you posted if I find our 'brother'." I said brother sarcastically as I closed the door behind me.

Nightmares are nasty things you know. They delve into your subconscious and pull out the worst case scenarios and amplify them into your mind so that you can't even wake yourself up.

Yeah, I have nightmares. I know, I know, it's kind of surprising, but hey, everyone does right? Of courses not everyone has the reoccurring dream of killing a woman they loved.

"_Rachel!"_

And not everyone has memories of Manticore's phy-ops division either.

"_What is your mission, 494?" _

"_To forget Amber."_

"_What is your mission, 494?"_

"_To forget…356, Sir!"_

That's right, 'ol Alec has had his share of personal demons that were born even before Manticore went down. You'd be surprised what makes me worry, what scares me. Not much, I grant you, but you'd be surprised that I'm afraid of anything at all, or course. Max is not one of them. She just gets on my nerves.

"_Hey Max could you pass the ketchup please?"_

"_Oh, you mean this unique ketchup unlike any other?" _

"_Why don't you lay off Max!"_

Women only complicate life, and it's never good complications either. Guess we didn't learn anything from the old story of the Trojan War though, because we men keep on falling for women.

But not me. That's what I used to tell myself back at Manticore, when I was on missions where I had to pretend to care for someone. When you're trained to you get to the point where that's all you do: pretend. Pretend to sleep, pretend to learn, pretend to live. They had to have known that Max's unit was only pretending to train.

And there we are back at Max again, because she is the reason for so many awful parts of my life. After her unit took off Manticore tightened the choke-chain on the rest of us and made us suffer for a few desperate kids. No one ever considered escaping again, which I guess was their objective.

7


	3. Chapter 3

An original Dark Angel fan fiction 

**Written by: **Jennifer S. a.k.a. AssassinElektra

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Dark Angel. This is a fan fiction story meant only for the enjoyment of myself and other Dark Angel fans.

**Title**: Two Of A Kind

**Genre**: Action/Adventure, Romance, science fiction,

**Setting**: Dark Angel, toward the end of season 2

**Rating: **PG

**Author's Note:**

**Chapter 3**

**He's Irritating**

_**Max--**_

"Get to work, people!" I glanced over at Normal as I made my way into the Jam Pony building. "Oh, well look who finally decided to show up." He said to me, sarcastically. "What's the reason for your lateness this time, missy, because frankly I've been looking to eliminate one of your bums anyway." He waited for a response, but I was too tired to care. I'd stayed up all night worrying about my brother, who's mystery was really troubling.

"She was with me." Alec said, walking up behind us, and I sighed.

"Well, well, Monty Cora getting a little more ring-time, if ya know what I mean?" Normal asked Alec, winking at him.

"Oh please." I said in disgust. "He _wishes_." I rolled my eyes at Alec.

"Well, it's not what you're thinking, Normal, but she _was_ with me." I walked over to my locker, ignoring whatever lame excuse Alec was throwing at Normal. The moron would believe his golden boy though, so it was all good I guess since I got out of losing my job.

"What is _his_ problem?" I asked Original Cindy, glaring at Alec.

"Gee, I don't know, boo. Guy's a real jerk for getting you off the hook." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Hey, I'm all for the free excuses, but not from _him_."

"What do you have against him exactly?" OC asked, and I couldn't answer because I'd never told her about Ben.

"Our personalities clash." I said to her, being a bit rude. "I mean, he's annoying, immature, arrogant, and most of all stupid."

"Anyone I know?" Alec asked, walking over to us.

"See what I mean?" I asked OC, motioning to Alec. She smiled and shook her head as she walked away. Great, thanks for leaving me with the jerk! Yeah, I love OC to death, but sometimes she just doesn't think these things through.

"Hey, Logan just called." Alec informed me. "Says he has a lead on our mystery man."

"Why didn't he page _me_?" I snapped, reaching into my pocket for my pager. My hand closed around what felt like gnarled plastic, and when I pulled it out I saw that my pager was completely destroyed. "Must have smashed it in the fight." I concluded.

"Yeah well, that thing's just a little out of date anyway." Alec said, his sarcastic tone returning.

"So what did you tell Normal?" I asked, curious but also afraid of what I might learn.

"Just that we had a little 'Transgenics Unite' slumber party, Max. What do you think?" He asked. And I hate it when he does that, when he tries to make me look stupid and actually does. "Relax. He thinks we were trying to get a late run from last night out first thing this morning."

"Really?" I raised an eye brow. I was skeptical. "You didn't add in any 'colorful' subject matter and impossible scenarios?" He smiled proudly as he shook his head. "Wow." I said, actually impressed. "You are the king of BS." I remarked, walking away and loving the irritated look on Alec's face.

"Hey, wait Max!" He ran after me as I pulled my backpack onto my shoulder and got onto my bike.

"What?" I snapped.

"Are you going to Logan's?" He asked.

"Why?" I asked, skeptical of him like always.

"Well, cuz if this 'brother' of ours," He looked around and spoke quietly to make sure no one was paying attention to our conversation, "Get's caught by White, he's all ready seen us and may tell him where to look."

I fought the urge to agree with him, because he actually had a valid point. He usually did in fact, but was I going to give the idiot the chance to feel smart? Oh, sarcastically, please!

"Fine." I said sharply. "You can tag along."

I hate it when Alec is at Logan's house with me. It just makes things---which are all ready screwed up between Logan and I---seem a lot weirder. Plus he's got the attention span of a two-year-old on a sugar high, and trying to have an intelligent conversation while Alec is present just isn't possible.

"Sung said they picked someone up last night near sector six." Logan informed us—although he was mostly talking to me. "Says he fits the description you guys gave me."

"Oh, you mean 'dark, shadow of a guy in a trench coat?'" Alec asked sarcastically, but Logan just brushed the remark away and continued.

"Apparently they caught up to him in a church." He told me.

"What?" I asked, surprised. "Religion wasn't in Manticore's curriculum." I said, skeptical. "Maybe he's not our guy."

"Or maybe after facing you two he decided that a little sanctuary wasn't a bad idea?" Logan suggested.

"Were is he now?" I asked.

"Picking daisies in a meadow." Alec remarked, batting his eyes mockingly. "Did you or did you not hear the man say that the guy was arrested?" He asked me, pointing a thumb at Logan.

"Look, I really don't have time to put up with this right now." I snapped, grabbing my coat and heading for the door.

"Max, if this guy is as strong as you said you'll need someone to go with you." Logan told me. I turned around and looked at the smug, sure-that-I-was-going-to-ask-him look on Alec's face.

"I'll get Joshua." I said, smiling at Alec.

"Oh that hurts." Alec commented, pretending to clutch his heart in pain. But I could see a hint of real hurt in his eyes that almost made me feel sorry for saying it. Almost.

Walking in the dark towards Matt Sung's office, I had the strange feeling that I wasn't going to find the mysterious transgenic I was after once I got inside. I walked in and knew from the look on Sung's face that I was right.

"What happened?" I asked, noticing the distressed looks on all of their faces.

"He escaped." Sung said, holding a tissue to his bleeding head.

"You okay?" I asked, motioning to him.

"I'm fine, but we…" But I was running outside of the building before he could even come up with a sentence to finish saying. If this new transgenic was an escapee, the I wanted to find him and learn who he was.

That proved to be difficult, because, wonder of all wonders, Alec showed up, being the idiot he is. "I thought I told you to go home!" I said, irritated. He turned around and gave me the strangest look.

"You did?" He asked.

"Oh, don't even play this game today." I snapped. "I need you gone, right now." I told him.

"That's not a problem." He said, as he took off running into the dark. I thought it was odd that Alec hadn't argued or anything, but hey if he wants to follow my orders without questioning them, I'm sure not going to question it.

So, I set out to find my lost brother, my mood once more turned sour by the presence of Alec. I hate the guy! I mean, he's always all up in my space, always bugging me about Logan and reminding me that I can't touch Logan ever again without plunging him into a violent death.

The only good thing I can say about Alec is he has always been there in those moments when I really, really needed him. Like after he got arrested and asked about Ben, and I knew I had to tell the guy because he had a right to know why he had been falsely confused. But that comfort he offers every once in a while always comes with a price—you're forced to put up with twice as much sarcasm.

Of course he does have nice eyes too. And from what I remember when he tried to fulfill our "breeding mission" he has a pretty toned body too. The guy looks good without a shirt—I'll give him that. But he's totally irresponsible and annoying! And why did he have to get a job at Jam Pony of all places? And why was he still in Seattle? Alec's a free spirit, so what's holding him back?

4


	4. Chapter 4

An original Dark Angel fan fiction 

**Written by: **Jennifer S. a.k.a. AssassinElektra

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Dark Angel. This is a fan fiction story meant only for the enjoyment of myself and other Dark Angel fans.

**Title**: Two Of A Kind

**Genre**: Action/Adventure, Romance, science fiction,

**Setting**: Dark Angel, toward the end of season 2

**Rating: **PG

**Chapter 4**

**To Hear Your Voice**

**_Alec--_**

When life gives me lemons I squirt lemon juice in its eyes and laugh. I mean, I'm not gonna just take what's given to me. If Max wants to try to go find a psycho transgenic on her own, let her. But I wasn't just going to sit around at home and wait for news.

So yeah, I went looking for Amber. I mean, what else is a lonely guy going to do in Seattle that I haven't all ready tried a few times? Besides, I was a little short in the cash area anyway.

I don't know why, but the first place I looked was Manticore, or what was left of it. Walking through the rubble I was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of sorrow for Amber, for what it must have been like to be trapped in that explosion and afterwards, unable to break free.

I looked around for a while and saw nothing of interest really, until I looked up and there it was. The glass coffin that was obviously made of something much more durable, that Manticore had kept Amber in.

It looked just like I remembered it, except for the scorch marks and scrapes where metal had hit the sides during the blast. Slowly made my way towards it, unable to contain the tears that streamed down my face as I imagined Amber being trapped in it.

A closer look revealed that the lid had been broken, or the seal had, and that was how Amber had gotten out. But afterwards she had taken the time to put it back on, to close her torturous tomb before walking away.

I reached out and touched the transparent surface with a shaking hand, and suddenly I remembered doing the same thing as a kid.

_"Why are you in there?" I asked, but she didn't answer. I knew she couldn't, but all I wanted was for her to say something to me. She responded with her eyes, looking down at her hand, and it was there that I saw a small tattoo of the Manticore symbol on her palm. "You're special, aren't you?" I asked, and she told me with a sad gleam in her eyes that she was._

_"Someday I'll get you out of here." I told her, and I saw a tear run down her face. That was the first time I'd seen anyone cry, and it had changed my life forever._

I snapped out of my flashback at the sound of someone's soft approaching steps. Turning around slowly I saw Amber standing there in the rubble, her Manticore medical robe in tatters and her bare feet obviously pained against the rough debris. "Amber?" She moved to leave, but I held a hand up. "No! No, please don't go! I just want to talk to you." I tried to make my voice gentle, soothing, but I was in emotional tatters right then and I just wanted to rush over to her.

But Amber had the look of an abused animal, afraid of anyone who remotely resembled her cruel master. I was human, so I fit that category as far as she was concerned. And that right there made me wonder what Manticore had done to break her so much.

"I…I've missed you." I told her, keeping my voice soft, sans any threat. "I used to dream that I went back and found you, and we…" Her scared eyes were focused on me. "I love you." I told her quietly, but she did not seem to react. "Amber, please, say something." I begged. "I just want to hear your voice. I never got to…"

"It hurt." She said, and her beautiful voice made me stop talking. The tears she had seemed to constantly hold back were now falling silently down her cheeks as she looked at me. My own tears started again at the sight of her pain. "You hurt me."

"I know." I admitted. "I'm sorry. I would have looked for you, but they…"

"I asked you to stop, but you just kept…" She looked at the ground and suddenly I was confused.

"Amber, what are you talking about?" I asked her, and she looked up at me again.

"I broke out, and you were the first one to find me. But you…" She paused, remembering something painful. "You wouldn't stop." I felt suddenly angry as I realized what was going on.

"Amber, that wasn't me." I told her, and she looked up at me, confused. "I would _never_ do anything to hurt you."

"Then why…"

"It was my twin." I said coldly, the very words making me sick. "He's supposed to be dead." But then so was ol' Zack and we all know how that turned out. The good old Manticore fairy tale ending. You know the one. Prince dies to save the princess, prince gets brought back to life as an insane killing robot.

"Then it wasn't you?" She asked, and I noticed bruises on her arms.

"No, baby." I said, surprised at my own words. Hearing her voice was amazing to me still, but hearing the agony behind it was almost not worth it.

She started to walk towards me then, slowly, and I didn't dare move until she was standing right in front of me. Then I reached down and gently took her hand. "I've been waiting to do this for years." I whispered to her as I leaned in to kiss her.

"So have I." We both jumped and looked at White, who was standing only five feet away with a gun pointed towards us. "494, and here I thought they picked your breeding partners for you back at Manticore." He added, sarcastically, looking Amber up and down. I didn't like the way he was looking at her, like she was a toy he could play with once I was out of the way. That last part wasn't going to happen any time soon though.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"Just two dead transgenics." White answered, smiling. "And guess what? It's my lucky day." He moved to pull the trigger, but Amber had kicked it out of his hand and had it pointed not an inch from his face before he could move much at all. "Easy, wasn't it?" He asked sarcastically.

Amber and I glanced nervously at the enclosing men, all with loaded guns pointed at us. "Oh don't worry 356." Amber glared at White as he spoke. "We've got special plans for you." She gave him a look of pure hatred. "Drop the gun or 494 gets to die." White told her, his sarcasm fading into a serious tone of mutual hate. Amber glanced at me, noticed the guns had all shifted and pointed towards my head, then dropped the gun. "Good." White said.

He walked closer to us, giving me a disgusted look. "When was the last time you saw 452?" He asked, but I didn't respond. "When!" He shouted, but still I didn't answer. So he slammed his fist into my chin, and I looked at the ground in time to see a drop of blood fall from my lip and hit the ground. "You're making this much harder than it needs to be 494." White told me.

But I wasn't going to give him anything. I wasn't even going to fight back, because for some reason he wanted Amber alive and I was willing to work with that. Making a sudden move might have caught her in the crossfire. Now _that_ was not something I was willing to risk.

I suddenly found myself wishing that Max was there, because she always seems to know what to do in those situations. Well, not always, but she does always have a snappy comeback remark for the bad guy, especially when she considers _me_ to be that bad guy.

So I stood there, not risking even a blink, because I cared about Amber _that_ much. I did shift my eyes to look at her however, and she somehow sensed what I was thinking and shook her head. I tried to tell her that I had to, that it was the only way to protect her, but Amber shook her head again then glared at White.

"Do you want to die, little girl?" White asked her, having no idea what he was getting himself into by aggravating her. But then neither did I until I saw amber lash out at him.

With an almost feral rage, Amber tackled White, scratching her fingernails into his cheek and drawing blood as she held his head onto the ground. "There are worse things than death." She told him bitterly. "And I've felt them all." She moved to crack his neck, but one of his men had slipped past me and was on her before she could.

It almost sounded like Amber growled as she slammed her fist into the guy's stomach. I almost puked at the sight of her hand breaking through his flesh and ribs, drawing blood. He screamed in pain, and who could blame him really? Amber's eyes seemed to be flickering red, a sadistic tone that I didn't like seeing on her. It didn't go so well with her beautiful hair.

"Amber, stop!" I screamed, pulling her away from the man. Her fist ripped away from his gut with a disgusting sound of body fluids and organs moving, and then Amber and I were lying on the ground, and I was holding her trembling for in my hands while she sobbed.

I looked at all of the men approaching us, White standing to the side looking at Amber with a newly ignited revulsion. She laid her head against my chest, not wanting to face the man she had just killed. And I wanted to protect her, to be the man in her life that made her feel better when the world came crashing down. But there were too many of them, and they were all crouching in.

"Amber, if we're going to make it out we have to fight together." I whispered into her ear, and she nodded gently, turning her face to look at the approaching men. Then her eyes turned to mine, and her tears broke my heart.

"494?" She said, quietly, and I realized that it was the only name she had ever known me by. Max hadn't named me until about a year ago, and I'd been more than content to stay with my designation at the time.

"Alec." I told her, and she smiled. I couldn't help but smile back, even though I knew we were probably about to die.

"I love you, Alec." She said, barely touching her lips to mine. She pulled away quickly and glared at the soldier who lunged at us, catching him by his leg and flipping him over onto the ground behind us. We both jumped to our feet and looked at each other, standing ready in fighter's stance. "That's why you have to leave me." Amber said, and I was confused.

"What? No!" I argued, eyeing the men who approached us with more caution now.

"Yes." She insisted, tears falling from her eyes again. "You _have_ to go Alec! Go now! Run!"

"No!" I said, hearing my tears in my voice as I tried to speak. "I'm not leaving you this time! Amber, I…"

"You don't understand, Alec." She said, giving me an oddly sad smile. "I have a destiny to fulfill, and until I do I can't be around you."

"I don't understand." I admitted.

"I know." She told me. It was a shame that after all that time I was hearing her voice, but she was saying the one thing I had never wanted to hear. "Now go."

I hesitated, my eyes locked to hers. "Will I see you again?"

"I'm not sure." She said quietly. I looked at her, glanced at White's men who had all stopped and seemed to be watching us with interest. Then I looked back at Amber, and pulling her close I kissed her more passionately than I'd ever kissed any woman before. That kiss transferred all of my feelings for her to her soul, I know it did because when I pulled away and White's men were once more running towards us, she had a look of understanding in her eyes. And then I took off running, leaving the woman I loved at my mortal enemy's mercy.

I don't know why, but the first person I called was Max, and even more surprisingly she rushed right over. And after learning that she had had no luck finding our brother I told her all about my encounter with Amber, every detail except for my tears. Of course I couldn't stop myself from crying as I told the story, and I look away from Max, ashamed that she could see my tears.

"I know what it's like." Max said, and I looked at her skeptically. "Losing someone you care about, I mean." She added. She truly looked sympathetic, but I didn't want her sympathy.

"Do you?" I asked her, my tone a bit accusing.

"Alec…" She placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I looked at it, considered how amazing it was that she was touching me at all. "It's okay to feel sad for someone, to _miss_ them."

I let my head drop into my hands, elbows propped onto my knees. "I don't feel sad, Max. I just feel…" I looked up at her, "Alone." Her eyes stared at mine, uncertain of what I meant. And I seized that moment and leaned my face towards hers. She didn't move, which surprised me considering she had kicked me up against a wall the first time I tried to even talk to her.

And then suddenly our lips were touching, and I realized with even more surprised that as I kissed Max, she kissed me back. She moved closer, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my fingers on her lower back. We made out like freakin teenagers there on my couch, but you know what? I didn't care, because Max was giving me what I needed right then: she was letting me forget about Amber for a little while at least.

Max moved even closer, and then suddenly she was sitting on my lap, straddling me, and I was more shocked by the move than anything. She pulled her mouth away for a moment and I started kissing her neck.

"Alec?"

"Yeah?" I whispered, reaching for the bottom of her shirt with my fingers to pull it up.

"You're not thinking clearly." She told me, and we kissed again.

"I know." I said between kisses.

"Then why are you…"

"I need to forget her, Max." I said as I started pulling her shirt up. But then her hands were on mine and she was looking at me with a serious look on her face.

"I don't want to be just another One-night-stand-to-comfort-lonely-Alec." She snapped, her hostile personality kicking in. Max stood up and backed away and I sighed. Of course I can never have happiness, it's against the laws of nature or something.

"You know what Max, I thought you were here to comfort me." I said, irritated.

"I am, but what you..." She looked at the floor. "What we were doing was just something to take your mind off of Amber."

"It was working." I said, using my seductive voice. Max seemed a bit taken back, but then she regained her composure.

"You don't really care about me, and besides, there's Logan even if you _did_." I raised an eyebrow at the hopeful tone of her voice. Could it be that Max wanted me to care for her? "You don't, right?" She asked, waiting for my answer with an unreadable look on her face.

I looked at the floor. After all Max and I had been through, after everything we had seen and done together, she'd finally asked the one question that had been bugging my inner self anyway. Only I wasn't ready to answer it. At least not out loud.

"This isn't about us." I said, and she looked almost disappointed. "Logan thinks we're together because you don't want to pull the plague routine every time you guys touch, that's fine. Doesn't mean we really have to…" I stopped and looked at Max, realizing how beautiful she looked standing there. "I love Amber."

Max nodded. "And I love Logan."

"Then it's settled." I said.

"Right." Max turned and faced the door, grabbing her coat. "I'd better go." She told me. "Original Cindy will never leave me alone with the questions if I stay any longer at _your_ house." She gave me a half smile and reached for the door. But then she stopped and looked back at me. "Are you going to be all right?" She asked me.

"You know me Max." I said, my smooth voice hiding my true feelings. "I'm always all right." She smiled and then turned and left, and once more I was alone with nothing but memories of a past love and the phantom touch of a possible new one's lips. Both were unreachable.


End file.
